Erik Deighton, 23, was crushed last month in a piece of machinery. A police officer commenting about his death called it an accident. There are well-established ways to prevent a worker from being crushed in a machine. When it happens, it is not an accident.

The AFL-CIO’s annual “Death on the Job” report presents the painful truth that the penalty for employers who violate safety rules that lead to worker fatalities, is woefully inadequate. Our nation’s rhetoric about respect for life seems not to apply to working people who face serious hazards on-the-job.